05:39 AM by fjtorres in E-Book General | News

http://www.theguardian.com/books/201...8m-titles-300m

Self-published books' share of the UK market grew by 79% in 2013, with 18m self-published books bought by UK readers last year, according to new statistics.

With print sales falling by 10% last year, and book purchasing as a whole down 4%, ebook sales continue to grow, according to Nielsen's comprehensive tracking of book purchases, up 20% in the UK in 2013, with 80m ebooks bought by UK consumers, to a value of £300m. But it is the DIY market which is showing the most eye-watering growth, up 79% to 18m self-published titles purchased, worth £59m, according to the statistics released on Friday.

More at the source.
With a caveat on the methodology: the numbers quoted are almost certainly low because a whole lot of indiepubs don't bother to get ISBN numbers. (They're not needed to get on Amazon or other vendors or distributors.)
And a fair amount of small or even medium "publishing houses" are actually indies working as LLCs.

08:17 AM by tubemonkey in E-Book General | News

Kindle Reading Apps Now Even Better with Audible Integration—Switch Between Reading and Listening Without Leaving the App

Whispersync for Voice lets you start reading while you’re at home, switch to listening on your commute—now with just one tap

Audio upgrades to Kindle books are available from Audible for as little as $0.99, with upgrades to bestsellers available for as little as $3.99

Amazon today announced that Kindle for Android and Kindle for iOS are getting even better, with a free software update that builds a seamless listening experience right into the app. With Whispersync for Voice, recently called “Amazon’s killer new app for books” by the Wall Street Journal, the Kindle app now lets you switch instantly between reading a Kindle book and listening to the companion audiobook from Audible—all with just one tap, without leaving the book.

09:17 AM by fjtorres in E-Book General | News

Nice snappy name:
http://www.cnet.com/news/samsung-bar...tablet-design/

The companies announced on Thursday that they will launch co-branded tablets. The devices will be known as Samsung Galaxy Tab 4 Nook, and feature Samsung's hardware and customized Nook software from Barnes & Noble. The first Galaxy Tab 4 Nook will hit US store shelves in August with a 7-inch display.

The decision to partner with Samsung might be a good one for Barnes & Noble. The company's Nook business has been falling off a cliff, with its last-reported quarter ended January 25 showing a 50.4 percent decline in sales and shareholders have been calling on the company to make drastic changes or shutter the operation altogether. Samsung, meanwhile, is performing somewhat well in the tablet space and is one of the leaders in Android-based tablets.

The partnership effectively ends Barnes & Noble's foray into hardware design. The company said on Thursday that while it'll still offer its Nook GlowLight -- a backlit e-ink e-reader -- it will now only support the Nook slates it's launched to this point. Leaving the hardware design to Samsung allows Barnes & Noble to focus on its own software and Nook content sales.

Nook content sales have also proven difficult to generate. During the last-reported quarter, Nook content sales, which includes digital apps and e-books, among other services, saw sales drop 26.5 percent year-over-year to $57 million.

More at the source.
So Samsung pushes Kindle and sells a Nook?
Smells like an experiment.

Good.

07:00 AM by Alexander Turcic in Miscellaneous | Week in Review

Gosh we've talked a lot this week. Here's your weekly round up of MobileRead's events.

E-Book General - News

• Diplomat sworn-in on a Kindle
• B&N to close their audiobook store
• E-books to outsell print by 2018 says new report
• Amazon new launch event June 18th

05:42 AM by AnemicOak in E-Book General | News

Don't know much about it, but the Amazon site has a banner at the top of the page mentioning a new device launch event on June 18th in Seattle. Says you can request an invitation here...
https://www.amazon.com/oc/launcheven...pf_rd_i=507846

A post on TechCrunch about it. Lots of speculation, but not much info, they (and others) are speculating it's the much talked about smart phone.
http://techcrunch.com/2014/06/04/ama...racking-phone/

05:42 AM by alanHd in E-Book General | News

Story here http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-27694650

08:59 AM by 6charlong in E-Book General | News

Nate Hoffelder over on The Digital Reader is reporting that Barnes and Noble are closing down their sales of audiobooks as of June 30, 2014.

http://the-digital-reader.com/2014/0...on/#more-68327

03:56 PM by fjtorres in E-Book General | News

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/...reader-n120111

Suzi LeVine, the new American ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein, took a decidedly modern approach to an age-old ceremony — swearing her oath on an e-reader.

Not just any ereader, but a Kindle:
https://mobile.twitter.com/USAinUK/s...732544/photo/1

The device was open to the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which in 1920 guaranteed women the right to vote. Vice President Joe Biden administered the oath on Friday.

LeVine’s background makes it no surprise: She worked for years at Microsoft and Expedia as a product manager and marketing executive.

So now you can swear your innocence on a stack of Kindles.